Walt Disney Animation Studios — Cuban-American Lifestyle & Food Blog — My Big Fat Cuban Family: A Cuban-American Blog

Last year I had the privilege of attending an event at the Disney Animation Studio and I was overwhelmed by pretty much everything I saw and experienced. That was for Frozen.

You would think, then, that I would not be very impressed with the idea of going back again to attend a press junket for Walt Disney Animation Studios' newest project Big Hero 6.

You would be wrong.

I was super-out-of-my-skin excited to receive the invitation to do a meet and greet and round table interviews with the producer, directors, and voice cast. And, of course, I got to visit the Walt Disney Animation Studios once again. (Pinch me.)

The makings of a Disney animated film are intense and complex. I was quite surprised to learn that the voice talent had not actually met or worked together while the film was in production. They record their own dialogue in a sound booth and then it's pieced together later. I suppose that's one of those fun facts that everyone knows but I didn't get the full impact of how that works until this day.

The film is set in the not-too-distant future in the fictional city of San Fransokyo. It's super detailed using an entirely new rendering tool called Hyperion, created for this project by the Walt Disney Animation Studios tech team. You've never seen anything like this on the screen before.

Just as they had done during the making of Frozen, the entire 2nd floor of the Animation Studio (seriously, pinch me) was redesigned to give the feel of actually being in "San Fransokyo."

The entire place was set up to enhance the creative experience for all the people working on the film.

Guys, this is the environment the animators and production staff get to work in. I may or may not have been a bit jealous.

Even the coffee bar in the studio was designed to resemble a faux sushi bar. It seriously doesn't get any better than this.

We met the cast in pairs. Starting with Damon Wayans Jr. (voice of Wasabi) and T.J. Miller (voice of Fred). Their excitement to be involved in this project was obvious to all of us.

T.J.'s character, Fred, also happened to be my favorite. Please appreciate that he is carrying his Fred action figure in his pocket. That is all. (Love!)

Scott Adsit gives voice to the inflatable healing robot, Baymax. It was great fun to have him actually "do" the voice for us. He mastered the balance of creating a perfectly soothing, and at once perfectly robotic voice.

The young super-brainiac, Hiro Hamada is voiced by young Ryan Potter.

Ryan's enthusiam and excitement was palpable as he shared what it was like to create authentic emotions and wonder as he lent his voice to the title character.

The girls in the cast, Jamie Chung (voice of Gogo Tomago) and Genesis Rodriguez (voice of Honey Lemon) round out the 6 heroes.

I appreciated that they portrayed such smart, strong and still feminine characters. In real life, Genesis actually was on the robotics team in high school., but that's not important right now. They are a perfect balance to the nerdy nuttiness of the boys.

Everyone we spoke to was visibly pumped to have been a part of Big Hero 6. When you see the film (which I promise to tell you all about in a few days) you'll understand why.

As I write this, I realize it sounds clunky and fangirly. I know. It's just that I am still quite overwhelmed and distracted by the fact that I actually got to hang (again!) at the Walt Disney Animation Studios with such talented people in such an inspiring place.

In the meantime, just enjoy the trailer while I slip back into my fangirl daydreams.

"I fail to see how flying makes me a better Healthcare Comanion." ~ Baymax

"I fail to see how you fail to see that it's awesome." ~ Hiro Hamada

Big Hero 6 opens in theaters everywhere on November 7, 2014.

The invitation read as follows:

"Come experience some cool things heating up at the long lead Press Day for Disney's FROZEN."

In other words, how would I like to spend a day at the Walt Disney Animation Studios and meet the producer, directors, animation team, art directors, and tech geniuses behind the upcoming Disney animated film, FROZEN?

Umm...yes, please!

I have seen the iconic sorcerer's apprentice hat building many times while driving to Burbank. "That's the home of the Walt Disney Animation Studios." We always point it out. Always saying it in reverently hushed tones. "It must be magical in there." Sigh.

So to be invited to spend a day here and witness the "making of" moments for an animated feature film? Seriously? Somebody pinch me.

We were treated to a sneak preview of the film, FROZEN, which is a stunning, big-screen, comedy-adventure inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen.

"Although ‘Frozen’ is inspired by Andersen’s classic tale,” says director Chris Buck ("Tarzan," "Surf's Up"), “our story is distinctly our own—fresh and new in spirit and style. It is wonderfully emotional, with plenty of action, adventure, magic and unforgettable characters.” 

“A story that started as a very simple idea of the power of family has grown into something much bigger,” adds director Jennifer Lee ("Wreck It Ralph"), who wrote the screenplay. “It’s about fear versus love that’s told through a family’s journey—their struggle to overcome fear and find the true meaning of love.”

The preview did not disappoint. It has all the elements of the stuff that makes us love Disney films so much: stunning visuals, strong characters, fabulous storytelling.

We spent the day visiting with the talented folks who brought the story to life.

In the Rigging Lab with the Disney Animators. (I know. Shut up.)

My favorite part of the day was when we got to play on the computers in the Rigging Lab. "Rigging" is CG animation-speak for "giving the characters expression and really making the film come to life," but that's not important right now.

I want to stop and have you appreciate this moment with me.

I. GOT. TO. PLAY. ON. THE. COMPUTERS. WHERE. THE. DISNEY. ANIMATORS. DO. THEIR. MAGIC.

I'm obviously still geeking out just a little over this.

They created a new piece of software they call, TONIC. Tonic allows the artists to really work with hair to make it look and act like, well...hair. You can see all the strands and how they wind up together in intricate braids and hairdos. TONIC is also used for when the characters have a bad hair day. Genius.

Not only does hair have to be animated, so does clothing. So they created CLOTH. With the goal being for the cloth to not just behave like cloth, but to act in a very directed manner to enhance the performance of the characters. I know. Mind blown.

One of the sweet characters in the film is called, Olaf. He's a snowman.

“For the animation team, Olaf was like a giant toy box,” adds Buck. “He’s made up of three balls of snow that can break apart and come together in different ways. His eyes can move around, his nose can slide in and out and off. His stick arms came off. Animators could do anything with him.”

Olaf ice sculpture. And ice cream blizzards. Sooo apropo.

Producer Peter Del Vecho: “Olaf is one of the funniest characters in the movie, but he also has an innocent view of the world, which allows him to say things that go right to the heart very quickly.”

We spent the day interviewing these talented folks, visiting their creative spaces and playing with their tools. And, of course, geeking out over it all. The world of Disney FROZEN came to life for us in a beautiful and intimate way, and honestly, I'm having a hard time picking out the highlights of our day because, for me, the day was absolute perfection.

The film promises to be a true Disney technological masterpiece, with delightful characters and lots of drama and hilarity.

FUN FACT: One of Anna’s favorite phrases—“Wait, what?”—was added to the script compliments of Kristen Bell. I so love that.

Listen for the "Wait, what?" in this trailer.

We toured and played and ate and talked and spent quite the magical day immersed in all things FROZEN. There's so much more I want to tell you, but I think I'll save that post for another day.

A great big THANK YOU to the good people at Disney for including My Big, Fat, Cuban Family in your beautiful and magical FROZEN world.

Check out these 15 seconds of pure Disney-geek-wow-they-animated-this-for-ME awesomeness. Totally made my day.